Ballin' in Bali Day 1: Singapore Slingers progress to the knockouts by the skin of their teeth

Delvin Goh

Basketball is back and for the Singapore Slingers, it was a tough but productive day one in the 2022 ABL 3X3 International Champions Cup at the Discovery Shopping Mall in Bali, Indonesia as they try to shake off the rust of the pandemic and prepare for bigger things to come as things go slowly back to normal. The Slingers started off their campaign with a 14-21 defeat against Vietnam Red and Gold. With VN Red and Gold coming out of the gates red hot and the Slingers still trying to adjust to the 3x3 style of play it was the Vietnamese team that dominated early. The Slingers had a late game charge as they tried their best to claw their way back into the game, but in the end they had given the Vietnamese team too big a start to run down. Kok Chiang Goh (199-C-1995) and Yuan Lim Jun were the best on court for the Slingers but the lack of games over the past 2 years really showed in the Slingers first game back to serious competition. In their second match in Pool A, the Slingers found their rhythm in the sweltering heat and went on to win 17-11 against Louvre Indonesia. The Slingers came out more committed on defense and with much better team work and ball rotation the floor opened up and the Slingers players stepped up. JY Lim caught fire late in the game hitting four two-pointers to help his side hold on for the victory but it was a much improved team effort that led the Slingers to a win in their second match of day 1 of the Bali tournament. Slingers local players Yuan Lim Jun and Kok Chiang Goh led the Slingers scoring with 14 points & 9 points respectively after the first two games. Game 3 of the day saw the Slingers struggle with their outside shooting from the start and even a late comeback with Slingers JY Lim hitting a tough driving layup and a two point shot late was not enough for the Singapore Slingers to pull back the much taller Ahmedabad 3BL line up. Ahmedabad ended up taking the match 21-16 relegating the Slingers to 3rd place in there pool after day 1 of competition. With the win over the Slingers the Indian team finished day 1 second in the group while the Slingers cling on to their head-to-head advantage over Louvre Indonesia to progress to the round of 16. The Slingers will head into day two of the ABL 3X3 International Champions Cup in third place in the pool and will face Thailand's Shoot it Dragon in a do-or-die match with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals.
Courtesy of: singaporeslingers.com

Tags : KOK CHIANG GOH, JOBSTREET.COM SINGAPORE SLINGERS, SINGAPORE BASKETBALL